Treating skinned animal carcasses

ABSTRACT

Treating skinned animal carcasses such as beef by using shrouds in which the individual yarns comprise a blend of ramie fiber and a synthetic fiber, the ramie fiber comprising between 50 and 65 percent and the synthetic fiber comprising between 35 and 50 percent. The preferred synthetic is a polyester filament. The blended yarn in the shroud is characterized by the fact that the filaments, both the ramie and the polyester average six inches in length and are twisted together approximately 25 turns per inch. In use, the shroud is soaked in brine and is applied to the carcass while soaking wet and is tightly skewered to the carcass promptly after slaughter and skinning. The shrouded carcass is then put in the cooler for up to about 24 hours, during which time the shroud tends to lose its moisture content before being pulled off the carcass. The shroud of the present invention has an outstanding combination of strength against tearing both while wet and while dry.

Unite States Tatent Williams Jan. 8, 1974 TREATING SKINNED ANIMAL CARCASSES T57] ABSTRACT [76] Inventor: Beverly E. Williams, P. 0. Box 299, ng n animal c es 1 113 beef by S M C lif. 94401 using shrouds in which the individual yarns comprise a blend of ramie fiber and a synthetic fiber, the ramie [22] Flled: Sept 1971 fiber comprising between 50 and 65 percent and the [21] Appl. No.: 182,846

Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon kittorney Howsoh & Howson and Henry H. Skillman synthetic fiber comprising between 35 and 50 percent. The preferred synthetic is a polyester filament. The blended yarn in the shroud is characterized by the fact that the filaments, both the ramie and the polyester average six inches in length and are twisted together approximately 25 turns per inch. In use, the shroud is soaked in brine and is applied to the carcass while soaking wet and is tightly skewered to the carcass promptly after slaughter and skinning. The shrouded carcass is then put in the cooler for up to about 24 4 Claims, No Drawings w hours, during which time the shroud tends to lose its TREATING SKINNED ANIMAL CARCASSES The present invention relates to the treatment of meat carcasses and particularly to the use of a novel shroud.

The conventional procedures for wrapping meat carcasses are fully set forth in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,435 which issued on Nov. 10, 1970, directed to an improved shroud having at least one skewering flap disposed along one of its long sides, for the purpose of accepting the stresses applied to the shroud during the skewering operation and resisting damage to the body of the shroud.

My earlier US. Pat. Nos. 2,824,011 and 3,155,123 were directed to improving the durability of the shrouds by the use of ramie yarns in one case and ramie yarns interspersed with cotton or linen yarns in the other case. US. Pat. No. 3,539,435 discloses the use of ramie in warp and cotton in the weft. I

Repeated attempts to provide the optimum combination of fibers in the shroud and to provide the desired arrangement of the various fibers in the shroud have, prior to the present invention, not met with uniform acceptance because in the use of shrouds, the shrouds are subjected to high stresses both in the wet state and the dry state. In providing yarns which impart tear resistance in the wet state, the tear resistance in the dry state was not improved sufficiently to justify the increased cost, and vice versa. Thus other methods of increasing the life of the shroud have been resorted to.

Apart from the desire to increase the tear strength of the shroud, it has been important to avoid materials which fail to retain moisture for a sufficient period to effect proper treatment of the fat of the carcass during the cooling of the carcass to the cooler room temperature. If the shroud retains excessive moisture and retards proper drying of the carcass prior to removal of the shroud, the fat tends to flake, and the color of the fat is not entirely satisfactory. If the shroud permits too rapid drying of the meat, the meat shrinks excessively. Furthermore, the shrouds must be sterilized after use and therefore must be able to withstand the high wash water temperatures without the yarn components softening or deteriorating, or adhering to one another.

In accordance with the present invention, I have discovered that it is possible to produce a shroud which, when applied to the carcass, functions to treat the beef as well as the ramie and cotton shrouds of the prior art, but also has improved durability in that the tear strength of the shroud is improved substantially over the tear strength of either the ramie or the cotton shroud, not only when wet but also when dry.

The shroud of the present invention comprises a woven rectangle of cloth, in the present instance a plain weave as illustrated in the body of the shroud shown in my US. Pat. No. 3,539,435. In the present invention, however, the warp count and the weft count are in substantially the same range of between to 30 yarns per inch. The ability to provide the more open weave of the present invention is afforded by the use of yarns which are individually blended of ramie and a synthetic, in the present instance, a polyester filament. The yarn is composed of ramie fibers varying in length from three to six inches, and polyester filaments which have been cut or broken to a fiber length of approximately 6 inches which is equal to the optimum staple length of high quality ramie fiber. The fibers of ramie and polyester are twisted together on a spinning frame with a twist of approximately 25 turns per inch producing a highly absorbent yarn. In the present instance, the composition of the yarn is 65 percent ramie and 35 percent synthetic but it is contemplated that blends in which the ramie ranges from 50 percent to percent and in which the synthetic ranges from 50 percent to 25 percent will be satisfactorily employed. The polyester content of the individual yarns, which is less than 50 percent, provides dry strength to the fabric produced utilizing such yarns when compared with fabrics composed totally of ramie, or a combination of ramie and cotton. The dry strength has been found to be especially important in small plants where the shrouds may be permitted to dry completely at the top of the carcass prior to stripping. During stripping of the shrouds, the upper portions of the shrouds are subjected to greater stresses than the lower portions.

In a test of the ramie-polyester blended yarn, the fabric in which the warp and weft count is 28 yarns per inch produced a tear strength against metal skewers substantially greater than both the wet and the dry tear strength for shrouds of ramie and shrouds of cotton. (The tear strength of the ramie is substantially greater than the tear strength of the cotton when both are wet and the dry strength of the ramie is somewhat higher than the dry strength of the cotton.) This substantial increase in strength was obtained without sacrificing the moisture-absorbing and moisture-retaining qualities of the shroud which are necessary to effect the desired proper treatment of the beef carcass.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For shrouding freshly-slaughtered and skinned carcasses, an improved shroud consisting of a rectangular cloth woven of yarns, all of the yarns of the shroud comprising a blend of ramie fibers in the range of 55 to 75 percent by weight and synthetic staple polyester filaments in the range of 45 to 25 percent by weight and broken or cut to a staple length in the range of 3 to 6 inches corresponding to the length of said ramie fibers, all twisted together in the range of 25 turns per inch to produce an absorbent yarn, the warp and weft densities of the blended yarns in the shroud fabric being between 0 and .iQzamsrstiash qawvLie l interstices for the accommodation of the skewers without substantial fracturing of the individual yarns.

2. A shroud according to claim I wherein the ramie staple length is approximatley 6 inches and the synthetic staple length average 6 inches.

3. A shroud according to claim 1 werein said ramie fibers comprise approximately 65 percent by weight and said polyester fibers comprise approximately 35 percent by weight.

4. A shroud according to claim 1 which is wet in condition for applying to the carcass, wherein said wet shroud includes an aqueous saline solution impregnating said woven cloth and absorbed within said absor- 

2. A shroud according to claim 1 wherein the ramie staple length is approximatley 6 inches and the synthetic staple length average 6 inches.
 3. A shroud according to claim 1 werein said ramie fibers comprise approximately 65 percent by weight and said polyester fibers comprise approximately 35 percent by weight.
 4. A shroud according to claim 1 which is wet in condition for applying to the carcass, wherein said wet shroud includes an aqueous saline solution impregnating said woven cloth and absorbed within said absorbent yarns. 